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My Dad Was Always Horsing Around
Barney Loved Horses
My dad's name was Wilbur but everyone called him Barney.* Oh, and Dad loved horses.
Dad's been gone five years now, but up till the last few months of his life, my dad was always horsing around. Dad loved horses from the get go.
My nephew Jeff shoes horses; he's a farrier, to you fancy types. And Dad loved to go with Jeff to gab and see the horses. Dad pronounced them "hosses" more times than not. And I'm pretty sure he preferred most hosses to most people.
This photo of Dad and my daughter was taken a long time ago. Dad called my offspring the Colorado kids. Since we lived in the Denver metro area, they were city slickers. Just look at her. Sandals. On a horse.
Photo from our family album.
* Except his two sisters, who called him Wilbur.
Barney Could Whistle!
And Sing and Crack Jokes and Had a Phrase for All Occasions
There's more than one way to horse around, and Dad was pretty good at all of them.
He whistled in tune like nobody's business.
He sang old tunes in a girly falsetto voice.
He told jokes and had perfect timing.*
He'd check the temperature on the north side and the south side of the house. Then he'd call one of my sisters or brothers who lived close to see what their temperature was.
Dad had very colorful language. He was known to say a cuss word or two (ha, that's an understatement!). Here are just a few of Dad's phrases:
~ Much obliged. (thank you)
~ So, how are all of your folks?
~ Yellow! (when answering the phone... hello)
~ It sounds just like ya. (In reply to when I called him on the phone and said, This is Peg.)
~ She told the boar who ate the cabbage. (If someone was on top of things and knew what was going on.)
~ I'm so mad I could eat beef steak. (needs no explanation, does it?)
~ Son of a biscuit eater! (when he was watching his tongue)
~ Son of a bit my finger off at the second joint!
Photo from our family album.
*To read one of Dad's favorite jokes, scroll down on this article to the I'm So Happy I Could Pop heading.
When Dad met Scarlett (my cat),
he called her Charlotte.
He loved to switch names and words around.
We named one of our dogs after one of Dad's friends, Bill Hamel. The dog's name: Hambiddle.
Besides Horsing Around, My Dad Loved...
Dad loved to read, maybe as much as he loved horses. He read all the Zane Grey books (several times, I imagine). He loved a good Western. But only books. Dad didn't watch movies.
For years, Dad had coffee and a Twinkie for breakfast. The breakfast of champions, you could say! He lived to be 96, so don't knock it till you've tried it, sister!
When Dad still had his teeth (did you just read that up there in the Twinkie area? He was 96, I tell ya), he loved chomping on peanut brittle.
Someone gave Mom and Dad a dancing flower one time. Thereafter, when one of his MANY grandkids or great-grandkids came over, he hauled it out and let it rip. It played "In the Mood" and he loved watching the little ones dance along with the flower.
Dad's kitchen table was always sticky. It was from the honey he dribbled into his coffee cup. He went through honey like it was water. Which is to say, he rarely drank water. Couldn't stand the stuff. He drank coffee and ginger ale.
Helped Out the Elderly
When Dad was in his 80s,
he delivered Meals on Wheels to the old folks.
Dad loved to serve people
coffee in one of these half cups.
Mairzy Dotes - Dad would sing this one at the drop of a hat.
Yee Haw!
Dad was a cowboy.
In his spare time, when he was younger,
he milked cows and herded cattle on horseback.
Dad Didn't Watch Movies But He Did Watch...
Dad Loved the St. Louis Cardinals - He never used a computer but this would have been just the mouse pad for him, if he had.
Aw, Shucks Corn Clock by scarlettohairy
Does (or Did) Your Dad Like to Horse Around? What's your dad famous for?
Hambiddle! Laughing out loud! I know I would have loved to have met your Dad just as I was thrilled to meet his daughter.
Such a fun read about your dad. My dad loved vintage westerns too (the books, not the movies) so I made a lens about those. Glad you made this page.
Thanks for introducing us to your dad.
My dad liked to horse around, but not with horses LOL
What a sweet story! I bet I would have liked your dad, liking horses and all...loved his colorful language as well...all around nice guy! Thanks for sharing!
Awww I loved reading this lens, Peggy. "It sounds just like ya!" ;) What a wonderful dad he must have been!
I see you have a special lens to remember your dad. This lens is so touching. My dad was full of jokes and always playing around with us.
nice lens
Great tribute to dad. I enjoyed reading this lens!
Beautiful lens in all respects.
A loving tribute, I enjoyed reading it. Your dad was wonderful character.
Beautiful lens!
wonderful lens, that's all i can say..
i wonder how strange it is that sometimes when you get out of yourself what you remember of a person you only get more surprised realizing what all came out.. my grandfather passed away when i was 11, when i was past my teenage years i realized only the things i had never tried to remember were the things that were helping me know him better all those years. luckily, i had had the craziest conversations with him when i was 8 or 9.. when i look back, it makes me happy and yet more surprised to understand the mechanics of how someone you'd become in future reflects someone smaller you are today.. i had no idea back then what the hell i was talking about, but the universe, i guess, makes you do things you're supposed to do with no constraints of past or future..... loved reading about your dad.. i must say, there are not too many lenses that force you to dig into words.. yours is one of them..
well, my dad did some horse riding a couple of times when he was a kid, but he had no connection as such to horses alone.. besides, he's a lover of living things.. i remember him arguing with my grandmother about a tree he wanted to grow in the front of our house and she didn't.. sometimes he planted a little Ashoka tree and grandmother pulled it out. she also grew plants but her only point was that it would block sunlight in the front. over many years this went on, and dad finally won.. the tree is there now, we're a permanent house of shade. courier guys and postmen stand in front of our house blessing the tree to sort out mails of our entire street. he even argued with a neighbor once as he used to shake the teenage sized tree while taking out his big car.. well, dad won again..
my dad is famous for being the cheapest doctor ever. in fact, sometimes many a time he would treat his patients for free, just like that. ;)
Your Dad seemed like so much fun. What a nice tribute. My sister and I were dedicated horse girls....I still have horses. My Dad was not a horseman, but followed along to all the horse shows. He is a very serious man, but he has some really crazy, horse-around kids because of my Mom.
thanks for sharing. makes me want to call my dad.
Thank you for sharing your story. Love it.
Great lense - my dad passed away too and he also loved horses - that was our thing and I miss him every day! I'm glad to say I still have the horses in my life!
My dad could make or fix anything. He remodeled (rebuilt, actually) the kitchen, installed a gas-fired heating system in an old coal-fired furnace, and made a telescope, which included grinding the mirror. He was amazing.
My father loved horses as well. We were always nursing them back to health whenever we happened to get wind of one in our neighborhood that had been neglected.
He was a big man though and wouldn't ride them himself, because he didn't want to put that much weight on them.
Thanks for this lens it was a lovely walk down memory lane :)
Interesting lens :)
Colorado kids! lol nice. Cool lense
Barney sounds like a great man, you deserve to be proud - great lens too!
Wonderful! Such a fantastic compilation of characteristics to be forever available to the descendents to come. My Dad was famous for
*wearing a shirt with an eagle on it that said "I'm smiling, can't you tell?"
*having a bigger heart than bank account - generosity was his first name and he taught his children to be the same way (which makes for fantastic family get-togethers).
*living with high integrity and teaching us to do the same.
*being scary: others thought he was scary because he said what he meant and he meant what he said.
*for his worldliness and knowledge - a huge feat for a truck driver.
*for caring deeply, his easy smile, and his love for his family.
He was legendary in how he lived, impacting his grandchildren to become more than they thought they could become. I aim to keep his characteristics alive through my own life.
I've actually written a silly lens about my Dad's life with renovating - please come take a look!
My dad liked horsing around, singing, dancing, and playing. But he was amazingly dedicated to all of his responsibilities and really cherished his family. He was a skilled carpenter and could do everything that was involved in house-building. He was a masseur. He loved to garden. He loved computers. He loved people, and was loved by everyone. We all miss him more than we can say.
My Dad used to toss me around in the air, build swings hanging from my bedroom ceiling, assemble life size doll houses while my sister and I slept through Christmas eve.. I could go on. My Dad was awesome for playing with us kids. Love you, Dad!
What a happy lens -- and happy memories of your dad! Thank you for this. My dad seldom horsed around -- but when he did, we kids were thrilled.
When I was little dad used to give us horseback rides (on his back :P)...
Like horse riding and more likely horse running in green field.
This is GREAT!!!!! Thank you so much for sharing your father with us! Blessed!
Your dad sounds like an incredible person - must have been a lot of fun growing up! Thanks for sharing suh a touching wonderful memoir. Blessed and featured on "Still Wing-ing it on Squioo."
Funny you should ask - I was just sharing some memories about my dad with my son yesterday on the phone. My dad was a 'teaser' and loved to joke around. He had a great sense of humor and used to be able to tell you a complete fabrication in such a way that you actually 'believed' him. Dad was famous for being an all-around handyman. My hubby was not good with tools and my dad used to visit with his toolbox in his car and fix whatever needed fixing or building around the house. I think I would have liked your dad a lot and they would have liked each other! Wonderful tribute to your dad.
My dad is one of the best handyman I know. He fixes almost everything around the house, and there hardly a need to call someone to repair any faults at all. He's awesome.
My dad is totally into iron horses (trains ;o) but I am all about the four-legged kind. Very nice tribute lens. As a transplanted Yankee (in Alabama) I must say I got tickled over your dad's "phraseology" - sounds a bit like some of that thar jawin' I heah 'round heah. *grin*
Great memories you have and are able to share. Keep them close to your heart forever.
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@anonymous: Thanks so much! Memories can be wonderful things.
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@randomthings lm: Love the underwear remark! That's great!
You have me smiling, our Dad's could have been great friends and you just brought back a flood of memories of my own as you shared your little treasures about your Dad, a very special tribute for a special man and Dad. Congratulations on wood themed front page honors!
TOO FUNNY, your dad sounds a lot like my dad. Mairzy Dotes !!! I haven't thought about that for ages! And, my dad, too, plays cards "with the old people". And when we forgot something he says "how you fixed for underwear!" Thanks for sharing about your dad!
Humorous, touching tribute to what sounds like a really great guy. ~blessed~
ironically, my dad breeds Arabians, he has a farm in Minnesota. He discovered his love for horses late in life, but he is thoroughly enjoying it.
Wonderful tribute. I lost my dad in March of this year and I think it will be therapeutic for me to throw something up about him as well. Thanks for the inspiration!
What a lovely tribute to your dad. It's given me inspiration to create a lens to someone special in my own life as well.
Cute! Wish I could own one!:)
I love this spotlight about your dad's horsing around personality and essence. Would have enjoyed knowing him. Found this feature lens just after sitting here with my morning coffee thinking about "dadisms" (those sometimes funky things our fathers say and do). This was a really great tribute.
Your Dad sounds very special. Mine was, too and miss him very much, but all his horsing around stays in my heart forever.
My parents had horses and I can't wait to own some as well!
You Dad sounds wonderful. I really enjoyed reading about him.
BTW, I'm horse mad too and my favourites are also appaloosas.
My Dad was an entrepreneur.
My dad is famous for wood products.
My Dad was famous for his fishing ... nice lens!
Your father lived a full life. My dad liked baseball.
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@bossypants: Yes, he was, and I'm a son of a gun, er, well, a daughter....
Barney sounds like a pistol. What nice memories you have and what a wonderful tribute!
My Dad was an Iowa Farmer - See Pete Smith, Iowa Farmer, thank you very much! ;-)
What a great lens! Thank you for sharing! I love being around horses and like to go and ride them any chance I get so this lens was really interesting to me.
My dad is such a "kidder" and funny. We love to laugh with dad. He loves fishing, and we take him fishing as often as we can. I remember catching more Crappie Fish than him one time, and he was "tickled".
You have a great Dad, and I also love ridding horses.
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@Gayle Mclaughlin: Cool, Gayle! My dad loved the St. Louis Cardinals. I should add something about that.
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@Joan Haines: He sounds like a fun dad, too!
My dad loved baseball and I can remember sitting with him on the porch listening to the Kansas City Royals! Thanks for the memories.
My dad was famous for his gourmet cooking, ham radio, and knowing everything about everything.
Thanks for sharing about your Dad, mine was always horsing around, too! Horses and Harley's, my Dad just loved to ride.
Your dad sounds wonderful! I was a horse-crazy little girl, and my dad always said I could have a horse when I could toss a bale of hay over the corral fence. That corral stayed empty through my childhood, though I got a lot of exercise trying to throw that bale of hay. Years later, I found out my mother had set the task secretly due to her fear of horses! Someday, I'll find a place to settle down with a horse of my own :)
Your dad sounds like quite a guy. Very lucky girl.
Very good, Peg!
Your story warms all around. Thank you.
A lovely tribute! Hope you get a front page feature ;-)
Your dad sounds like a lot of fun! My dad was like that, too.
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@anonymous: yes, he did! He said so many funny things.
My dad, your dad. Love it! He would say, "how bout them apples, Sis,!!
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@kathryn-gillespie: Oh yeah. Let me know more. I'll keep adding them.
This is great! Wonderful memories of our Dad! Thank you, Peg!
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